If there were ever a time to cue up the old “press X to doubt” meme, it’s now—because Taika Waititi is out here saying he wants to bring Star Wars “back to the fun” of the original trilogy.
Yes, the same Taika who turned Thor into a punchline machine and gave us the fever dream that was Love and Thunder now claims he wants to recapture the magic of A New Hope. And just like that, millions of voices cried out in skepticism.
Speaking at Sundance 2026, Waititi tried to sell the idea that his still-hypothetical Star Wars film is going to strike the perfect tone. “The stakes are very high, and there are serious things going on,” he said, “but there’s also a lot of fun to be had.”
Sounds great on paper. But anyone who sat through the screaming goats, breakup jokes, and tonal whiplash of Love and Thunder might want to hold off on getting their hopes up.
Let’s rewind. This project was first announced back on Star Wars Day in 2020—yes, six years ago. Since then, the updates have been sporadic at best and laughably vague at worst. First, he was co-writing with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, then she vanished from the narrative entirely.
Now we’re told he’s working with some unnamed writer, according to Kathleen Kennedy, who—in her final days at Lucasfilm—sounded like she was trying to be polite while waving a white flag. “He’s so busy,” she said. Translation? Don’t hold your breath.
Waititi himself has made no secret that this movie, if it ever sees the light of day, will be one hundred percent his flavor. “It will be… a Taika Waititi film,” he told Variety. “It’s gonna piss people off.” That line alone should make fans pause, especially when they’ve already seen what “Taika-ized” storytelling did to a character like Thor—once a god, now reduced to comic relief in his own franchise.
And here’s the kicker: there’s no script. No official timeline. No casting. Just vague promises, creative tap dancing, and industry soundbites meant to fill up press cycles. The last real statement from Kennedy was her thumbs-up on a first act. That’s it. Just Act One. As if that’s supposed to reassure anyone.
So where are we now? A project six years in the making with no clear direction, a director more interested in trolling expectations than meeting them, and a studio that’s been shedding goodwill like a damaged starship shedding bolts. This isn’t just development hell. It’s development purgatory, with no sign of a resurrection in sight.
And if you’re a Star Wars fan who’s already weathered the storm of sequel misfires, show cancellations, and nostalgia weaponization, the idea of Waititi swooping in to “fix” things might feel less like a promise and more like a cosmic joke.
